This invention relates to a storage container adapted to store a flowable substance and to be reconfigured to form an apparatus that is adapted to manually mix the contents of the container with other substances.
In the agricultural, building materials, and manufacturing fields, it has become standard practice to supply consumers of such materials with flowable substances contained in conveniently sized containers, including bags, that are adapted for ease of use, storage, transportation, and handling. Such containers and bags may be sized so that the consumer is not unduly burdened with a bag that is too heavy or too unwieldy in size to enable easy, single person use and movement. Most commonly, containers and bags of such materials may be sized so that the contents are apportioned into predetermined volumetric and/or weight ranges. For example, containers and bags of soil, seed, feed, or powdered cementitious materials may be made available, for example, in predetermined amounts of 20, 40, 80, 100, and 120 pounds, or in volumetric equivalents established in units of cubic feet and/or yards.
Such bulk agricultural materials include not only compost, soil, fertilizer, seed, feed, and powdered building materials such as cement and concrete, but can also include rice, wheat, barley, rye, coffee, soy, nuts, and other food stuffs that may be in any of a variety of forms including full grains, dehusked grains, crushed and dehusked grains, milled grains, and powdered grist. Other types of bulk building materials include cellulosic insulation, cementitious materials, and powered concrete and mortar compositions. In the manufacturing industry, many types of flowable substances are made available in various sized containers and bags. Such substances include, for example, plastic pellets and additives used for plastic injection molding, abrasives used in polishing and abrading applications, chemical compositions and substances (including, for example, soaps, bleaches, chlorine, salts, and other fluid treatment compounds), powdered metals and additives for use in powder metallurgy applications, and powdered lubricants, just to name a few. In yet other applications, the present invention is also compatible for use with gelatinous materials such as what is commonly referred to as naval jelly, which is used for removing rust and other corrosion products from metal surfaces. In this latter example, the storage and mixing apparatus according to present invention can be configured to store and transport the gelatinous, substantially flowable substance, and to be reconfigured into a treatment basin for treating the corroded parts with the naval jelly. This latter configuration is also compatible for use in military environments that use any of a variety of biological, chemical, and radiation decontamination bulk materials. Here again, the substantially flowable bulk substance or material can be easily stored and handled within the container, and then exposed as the container is unfolded and reconfigured into a treatment basin, wherein soldiers and other personnel may step into or place objects into the basin for decontamination of the apparel, work, and combat gear that may have been exposed to biological, chemical, and nuclear warfare hazardous materials.
In all applications that involve flowable substances, there is often a need to mix the flowable contents of the container or bag with another material, substance, or composition before use. In yet other applications, there is a need to treat objects with or expose them to the substantially flowable substance or bulk material. Often times, there is no readily available mixing apparatus to facilitate easy and convenient mixing or a treatment basin. This is particularly true for consumers of, for example, small quantities such as 1, 2, or 3 containers or bags of the flowable substance. For purposes of illustration, a consumer of grass seed may need to mix the seed with a fertilizer before application to a lawn; a consumer of corn feed stock may need to mix it with an antibiotic and a nutritive additive before feeding livestock; rice may need to be mixed with water before cooking; flour or wheat may need to be mixed with sugar and baking soda before adding water; concrete, mortar, or cement may need to be mixed with water before transfer of the mixture to a mold; color pigments may need to be added to the plastic pellets before transfer to a molding machine; and special alloying materials may be added to the base metal powder before forming, sintering, and extrusion. As those with skill in the art can appreciate, this list includes many other applications.
In all such applications, there has long been a need to provide the consumer with an easy to use, inexpensive, and convenient means for not only storing and handling such flowable substances, but also for mixing the substances. This is especially true for situations where only a small quantity of the flowable substance is to be consumed and use of large, automated mixing machines is inefficient and economically unwarranted. This can be true in applications where a container or bag of flour is to be mixed and prepared for distribution and cooking in an emergency aid environment, where help is rendered to victims of an earthquake, flood, or famine, and where mixing equipment for foodstuffs may not be available. This can also be true for small factories that employ only limited use of powder metallurgy technology or plastic injection molding applications. It is also true for consumers engaged in preparing small quantities of concrete, cement, grout, mastic, or mortar for use in constructing, for example, small garden stone walls, walkways, or footings for fence posts.
In each of the noted applications and situations, cumbersome and expensive automated mixing equipment is generally unjustifiable. Some attempts have been made to address the need for an improved means for storing, handling, and mixing flowable substances. One such attempt at improving the state of the art of mixing devices has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,636 to Payne. However, Payne""s invention is limited to a sheet of flexible material arranged with a planar skirt that surrounds a basin having a bottom that is below and parallel to the skirt. Payne does not disclose any means of folding or otherwise adapting his device for storage of the dry ingredients he contemplates therein. Moreover, to actually function for its intended purpose, Payne""s mixing mat is necessarily limited to being formed from a flexible sheet of material to include a basin with integrally formed vertical sides. It also includes an integrally formed skirt, which does not have compatibility with and which is not an efficient configuration for many of the applications and situations present in the myriad preceding examples.
What has been needed but heretofore unavailable, is an apparatus that not only easily accommodates a wide variety of mixing applications, but which can also be adapted without undue burden to facilitate storage, transfer, and handling of various flowable substances in a cost-effective and easy to use manner. Moreover, the preferred apparatus should be easily adapted to perform well with any of the aforementioned substances and in all of the attendant mixing situations described above and contemplated herein.
The present invention meets these and other needs without adding any complexity, inefficiencies, or significant costs to storage, handling, and mixing of widely available bulk materials and flowable substances such as and including those mentioned above. The various embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are readily adapted for ease of manufacture, low fabrication costs, and immediate compatibility with both the container filling equipment and flowable substances presently in use.
In its most general sense the present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art in any of a number of generally effective configurations. In one of the preferred embodiments this invention includes a storage and mixing apparatus for storing and mixing a substantially flowable substance that is formed from a folded flexible sheet. The flexible sheet is adapted to unfold along a plurality of fold lines into a mixing mat formed with a basin portion. The mixing mat is also formed to have a periphery incorporating at least one releasably engagable basin former.
Preferably, the basin former is configured to form the periphery into a circumferential riser that surrounds the basin portion when the former is engaged. The basin former can be incorporated into the periphery and can incorporate a raceway that is received with a cinch cord or draw string that is operative to form the riser or a surrounding, raised wall when drawn. In the alternative, the periphery may be folded along the plurality of fold seams to form the riser from opposing walls.
In this preferred configuration, the at least one basin former can be adapted to releasably engage the opposing walls to form a basin from the basin portion and the opposing walls. In variations of the preferred embodiments, the opposing walls may be releasably engaged by the at least one basin former. The former may incorporate any of a variety fasteners, such as, for example, hook and loop fasteners such as Velcro(copyright) by DuPont, metal or plastic snaps or zippers, twist-lock posts adapted for receipt into corresponding holes, and adhesives that may be applied directly to the sheet surface or in the form of adhesive strips that are glued in place.
In other variations and modifications of the preferred embodiments, the riser wall and opposing walls can be marked with indicia that are calibrated to establish predetermined weight and/or volumetric quantities of the substantially flowable substance, and any added substances. Such markings enable the user to add one or more additional substances to the basin so that a properly proportioned mixture can be obtained. For purposes of mixing the contents of the basin, the periphery also may include one or more handles formed from apertures incorporated into the outer edge of the periphery, or otherwise attached thereto by adhesives, rivets, thermal welds, and some other equally suitable fastening means.
The present invention also contemplates a preferred embodiment that includes a storage and mixing apparatus having a container that is formed almost entirely from a flexible sheet, which also operates as a mixing mat. In the container configuration, the flexible sheet is folded about a plurality of fold seams to create releasably sealable enclosure seams such that the container is adapted to store and contain the substantially flowable substance. The container configuration can be transformed by simply releasing the sealed seams, and by then unfolding the folded flexible sheet into its mixing mat configuration. This can be accomplished with the substantially flowable substance still contained within the bounds of the flexible sheet.
In yet other preferred embodiments, a storage and mixing apparatus is possible that is adapted for storing and mixing a first substantially flowable substance with a second substance. Here, the apparatus includes a container formed with a moisture barrier that is configured to contain the first substance. Also included, is a folded flexible sheet that is removably contained within the container. The sheet is formed with a basin portion and is adapted to unfold along a plurality of fold seams into a mixing mat that includes a periphery having at least one releasably engagable basin former. The periphery of the sheet is adaptable to form a riser when the at least one basin former is engaged. In variations of this embodiment, the container is imprinted with one or more indicia that are calibrated to measure a predetermined quantity of the second substance received therein. The indicia may be calibrated to measure the second substance before removal of the first substance from the container so as to measure the combination, or to measure the second substance after removal of the first from the container.
In a variation of any of the preceding embodiments, the container may also further incorporate an outside covering. In this modification, the flexible sheet is folded and arranged to be removably retained within an interstice formed between the moisture barrier of the container and the outside covering.
In another modification of the preceding preferred embodiments, a storage and mixing apparatus for storing and mixing a substantially flowable substance incorporates a container that is formed to include a moisture barrier that is adapted to contain a predetermined amount of the substantially flowable substance. The apparatus further incorporates a folded removable sheet that removably and substantially conforms to the container profile, either inside or outside the moisture barrier. The sheet is also adapted to unfold along a plurality of fold seams into a mixing mat that is formed with a basin portion and a periphery. The periphery preferably also includes at least one basin former that is, in essence, a fastener adapted to, when engaged, form the periphery into a circumferential riser.
Similar to preceding embodiments and variations thereof, the basin former can be integrally incorporated in the periphery to form a raceway that receives a circumferential drawstring or a cinch cord, which is operative to form the riser when drawn. Alternatively, the plurality of fold seams are adapted so the periphery is foldable into opposing walls that form the riser. In this alteration, the at least one basin former is preferably adapted to releasably engage the opposing walls to form a basin from opposing walls and the basin portion. In this alteration, the at least one basin former that is incorporated into the periphery is further formed with a raceway that receives a circumferential drawstring or a cinch cord.
As already described, these alterations may further include any of a variety of indicia for calibrated additions of other substances to the flowable substance, and the basin formers may be selected from any of a number of fastener types. These variations, modifications, and alterations of the various preferred embodiments may be used either alone or in combination with one another as will become more readily apparent to those with skill in the art with reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying figures and drawings.